The Business of Law – ABS and Traditional Law Firms

The Business of Law – ABS and Traditional Law Firms

Instructions

Word limit is 3,500 words, and this includes footnotes but excludes bibliography.

Quality of work that is expected

The assessment should be written in clear and concise language and should aim to demonstrate critical evaluation, analysis, and reflection rather than being merely descriptive of the topic covered. In particular, you will need to demonstrate your ability to carry out effective and relevant independent research as part of your assessment

Since your assignment is something you write in your own time (as opposed to under the pressure of an examination) we expect a high level of performance in the written communication and presentation skills. You should make sure that you use language proficiently and present knowledge, opinion or advice in a way that is succinct, accurate, grammatically correct, comprehensible, and appropriate for the context. o You should also make sure that your work is ‘office quality’, i.e., well presented, with no spelling mistakes or formatting errors.

Referencing

Use OSCOLA (the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) for citing/referencing all material used in your assessment. Full details and online tutorials on referencing using OSCOLA can be found at: www.law.ox.ac.uk/oscola. Please note that your references must be expressed sufficiently clearly that any reader of the work could check them easily

Bibliography

All works to which you refer within the text and in the footnotes must be included in the bibliography, as well as any other sources you have used in the course of the research. Please note that you may consult any research source you want, but it must be available to read in English.

OSCOLA requires bibliographies to be laid out in three parts:

• Table of cases

• Table of legislation

• Bibliography – all other secondary resources (e.g. books, journal articles, newspaper articles and so on)

Further information and online tutorials on referencing using OSCOLA can be found at:

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Your report should meet the following seven assessment criteria.

1. Demonstration of knowledge and understanding of the relevant area;
2. Analysis of complex legal, factual, business and/or management issues;
3. Application of knowledge and understanding to the task;
4. Ability to select and use appropriate information in support of the argument;
5. Ability to critically evaluate information;
6. Ability to reach a clear and reasoned solution to the problem(s) raised in the task, addressing any ethical and commercial issues;
7. Ability to communicate using a clear and logical structure and language appropriate to the task

Assessment

Case Study – The Business of Law

This case study concerns Alternative Business Structures and the ways of working in the legal sphere. Please read the following statement:

“Alternative business structures continue to disrupt the traditional law firm model in new and innovative ways”

Prepare a 3,500 word report. The report should contain the following sections.

1. A brief description of the current regulatory framework around Alternative Business Structures and how they are disrupting the traditional law firm models.
2. An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the new and innovative ways of working in the legal sphere.

Consider some of the points below:

• What clients need and want from their legal advisors
• What are the business benefits for law firms in using these structures
• What future generations want from their careers, including agile working and alterative careers

You should refer to the wider literature, your own research, and practical examples in order to give a comprehensive analysis and show your understanding.

• A synthesis of sections 1 and 2 which should comprise reasoned conclusions and reflections as to the future ways of working and the business of law.

Please note that I have inserted a random figure for referencing. You are expected to reference the work fully, with each footnote being relevant to what is being referenced.